I created two interactive chalk drawings for the AoPS Academy Math Walk, a project connected to AoPS Academy’s problem-solving centered approach to learning. AoPS Academy is an after-school enrichment program focused on advanced math, critical thinking, and creative problem solving for students in grades 1–12.

For this project, math moved out of the classroom and into public space. My role was not simply to decorate the walkway, but to translate mathematical thinking into playful, visual experiences that children and families could encounter, consider, and interact with as they moved through the site.

One drawing was based on Catalan Enumeration. I placed that piece near the entry to the academy so it would be easily seen by students arriving and leaving, and because the structure of the composition echoed the building in its own way. There is also a story behind that piece: I completed the drawing, but before the students could see it, a sudden storm rolled in and a flash flood washed it away in moments. Chalk’s impermanence can be part of its beauty, but in this case it was also the challenge. I returned a couple of days later and recreated the drawing from the beginning.

The second drawing centered on a routing challenge: getting astronauts A, B, and C from their matching space stations to their ships without crossing lines. I chose a location beside the play structures because the setting echoed both the imagery and the playful, interactive spirit of the puzzle itself. When I returned the next day to redo the first drawing, I stopped by to see how the second one was doing and got to witness one of my favorite parts of public art: people engaging with it in real time. The children were curious, but it was the fathers with them were especially determined to solve the puzzle.

The layered relationship between art and math reminded me of an amusing memory. Years ago, I used to joke that I didn’t need math because I was going to be an artist. Becoming a muralist taught me otherwise — math is built into the work, from measurements and layouts to square footage, pricing, and materials. With this project, that relationship became even more direct. I had to understand the math problem, interpret it visually, and then create imagery that made the challenge accessible, inviting, and fun. In that sense, math was not only the subject of the work — it was present in every part of making it.

These drawings reflect what I enjoy most about chalk art in public spaces: the chance to make something temporary, fun, and immediate — this artwork in particular asks people not only to look, but to think, play, and participate.

Title: AoPS Math Walk
Site/City: Cary, NC. 
Medium: Chalk.
Date: June 26, 2021 - June 29, 2021.